Millions of people snore. Regardless if you listen to a snorer, or you are the snorer, it is still a problem to deal with. Snoring can affect marriages. Read this article to find out how you can manage your snoring or help someone you love get rid of their snoring problem.
To reduce snoring, stick to a good body weight. Although excess weight does not directly correlate with snoring, excess neck fat does put more pressure on airways, which could result in snoring. If your snoring gets worse after gaining a few pounds, losing them may help.
Nasal Passages
One way to eliminate snoring is to make “fish faces”. Although it may sound strange, these faces help strengthen your facial and throat muscles. Close your mouth and suck your cheeks in. Move your lips as if you were a fish. For best results, do this a few times each day.
In order to prevent snoring, you should have open nasal passages. A clogged nose, or one that is otherwise constricted, may contribute to snoring. Use vapor rubs, humidifiers, neti pots, or steam showers to clear nasal passages when you’ve got a cold. You may want to consider using nasal strips as a means to opening up your nasal passageway, which allows you to breath easier.
Drink lots of water in order to not snore. When there is a lack of water, your nasal secretions become denser and are more likely to increase clogging of your air passages. You should drink at least eight glasses of water every day to avoid snoring.
If you don’t want to snore, drink plenty of water and other fluids. Should you be dehydrated, the secretions that come out of the nose are stickier and thicker, and that makes them a lot more likely to block airways which leads to you snoring. Aim for 10 or more cups of water or other caffeine-free beverages each day, to reduce the likelihood that you will snore.
Your doctor can give you information about any of your medications that could be causing snoring. There are prescription medicines that have snoring as a side effect. For example, pain killers and muscle relaxants can loosen the muscles in your throat, causing it to restrict your airway. If your airway is reduced, you will snore.
Elevating your head during sleep can help stop snoring. Make sure your head gets adequate support by lying on a firm, thick pillow. You can also double up on pillows. This puts your head in a more upright position, and that increases airflow which may result in a reduced amount of snoring.
If a person carries excess weight, they tend to have fat around the neck, which can make them more likely to snore. Overweight people also store fat in their throat, blocking their airway and making snoring worse. Think about losing weight if you are a little on the heavy side. You will not only improve your health and appearance, but you may get better sleep.
Those who are overweight are more likely to snore, particularly those people with extra fat around their neck. Excess fat around the neck can cause pressure on the airways and keep air from flowing freely. If you are above your ideal weight, think about shedding those extra pounds. In addition to looking and feeling more active, you will sleep snore-free as well.
Replacing your existing pillow with a new, firmer one can help you stop snoring. A soft pillow can cause the muscles in your throat to relax too much and make your throat and nose pathways narrower. Snoring will be caused by the difficulty of air passage. It may be helpful to rest your head on a firmer pillow.
Cutting down on your smoking is a great way to minimize your snoring. If kicking the habit altogether isn’t feasible, at least avoid smoking in the last few hours you are awake each day. Smoking causes the throat to swell and the air passages to tighten. If you are able to stop smoking, you reduce the swelling and often the snoring will be minimized or eliminated totally.
You can diminish your snoring by quitting smoking. If you find it impossible to stop smoking, then at least cut it off in the hours that precede sleep. When you smoke, your throat swells, which will cause your air passages to get narrower. When narrowed passages exist, so does snoring. Consider quitting as an alternative to an inflamed throat at night.
Sleep on your side to prevent snoring. Sleeping on your back will help you sleep without snoring. Sleeping facing down isn’t a good idea, either, as this puts strain on your neck. For these reasons, being bilateral is the optimal position for sleeping.
If snoring is a problem for you, avoid alcoholic beverages. Avoid antihistamines, tranquilizers and other sleeping pills at bedtime. These products cause muscles in your body to relax, so this constricts your airway and can cause you to snore more.
You’ve probably never thought about singing being a cure for snoring, but it may be. Some doctors recommend singing as a means for building up palate and throat muscles. This increased muscle tone will keep your passageways from narrowing at night, and when you do go to sleep, snoring won’t bother your slumber.
When you want to keep yourself from snoring at night, consider sleeping on one side. Sleeping on your back increases the likelihood of snoring. Furthermore, if you sleep on your stomach, you are more prone to neck stress. Refraining from sleeping on your back and instead opting for your side will be more ideal for you.
If you are snoring, determine if it is caused by any of your medicines. Some medications dehydrate your nasal membranes. If this happens, the membranes swell, making it harder to breathe, and you snore as a result. Others can make you feel sleepy and cause the throat muscles to relax and not take in adequate air.
Singing can help you stop snoring. There is a physician who advocates singing as a method of limiting snoring, because the act of singing works to strengthen the muscles of the soft palate and the throat. Increasing the muscle tone in these areas prevents your airways from narrowing as you sleep, making snoring less likely to rouse you from slumber.
Limit the duration of exercise you get during the hour before going to bed. Engaging in any physical exercise can exacerbate your snoring problems. If you can’t breathe properly, you may snore all night long.
Your medications may be to blame for your snoring. Some prescription medications can dry out your nasal membranes, which can cause them to swell up and restrict airflow. Medications that contain sedatives can have the unfortunate side effect of relaxing the muscles in your throat, which makes it difficult to breathe freely during sleep.
Tennis Ball
To curb snoring, examine the things you normally consume before bedtime. Alcohol, muscle relaxants and other medicines can cause your throat muscles to weaken. If your throat muscles relax too much, they may collapse and block the flow of air. Water is a great way to maximize your level of hydration before you rest.
Interestingly, it is possible to eliminate snoring using a tennis ball. Before going to bed, put the tennis ball onto the back of the clothes that you wear to bed. As you sleep, the sensation of the ball pressing into your back will help you stay on your side. Side sleepers tend not to snore as the airway is unobstructed in that position.
Consider the possibility that your allergies may be causing your snoring, and visit your doctor for treatment. When allergies are not treated, swollen nasal passages can make it impossible to get any air through your nose and this may result in mouth breathing. This leads to snoring very frequently. Try allergy medications that you get over the counter and see if they work for you. If not, you’re doctor may need to prescribe you something.
Consider exercising your tongue regularly. While this may sound rather daft, stick your tongue in and then out of the mouth to exercise it. Hold your tongue straight while it is stuck out of your mouth, and point the tip up, down, left and right. When doing this routine, it’s important to hit each of the four points. The more toned your tongue muscles are, the better your chances are to breathe efficiently.
Try using essential oils for a little snore-reducing aromatherapy. Some of these oils, such as eucalyptus and peppermint, are great at clearing stuffy nasal passages. This will make breathing easier and reduce, or stop, snoring. Whenever you are stuffed up try essential oils.
You may be able to control your snoring by purchasing an adjustable bed. Adjustable beds allow you to change the angle of your upper body relative to that of your legs. This will keep your airways unrestricted, and will drastically help reduce snoring.
An internal nasal dilator is an effective treatment for snoring, so give it a go. While snoring does not originate in the nose for most people, it does for some. These dilators fit inside the nose and prevent them from constricting. They can solve the snoring caused by that problem.
Certain kinds of exercise can help to reduce or prevent snoring. Various types of throat exercises, when done for about 20 minutes a day, can help to prevent your throat muscles from becoming too relaxed. These exercises involve saying vowel sounds and curling your tongue, which will build strength in your upper respiratory system and reduce the weakness in muscles that cause snoring.
Breathing through your mouth is what causes the sound of snoring. If you breathe through your nose, the air you take in will not enter your throat. Two popular and effective methods to control mouth breathing are chin straps and sealants for the mouth. Both keep the mouth closed while you’re asleep. Speak with your local pharmacist regarding these products.
Mandibular Advancement
Blow your nose and use a nasal spray before going to bed. Keeping your airways clear and hydrated will help you to breathe easier when you sleep. This will give you the ability to take in air through your nose, which can help your breathing patterns.
Ask your doctor about mandibular advancement appliances. Such appliances are custom-fitted for your mouth, fitting tightly with your upper and lower teeth. As the name indicates, a mandibular advancement appliance sets your jaw a little forward from it’s regular position, which can help ease the snoring.
Nasal strips are helpful for reducing snoring. What they do is pull the nostril further apart with the adhesive right on the back of the strips. Opening the nostrils more widely can greatly reduce snoring. Nasal strips do NOT assist if you have a condition called sleep apnea, for that you’ll have to seek out a medical professional’s help.
As noted above, many people snore. Snoring not only disrupts the sleep of the snorer but affects those in the same household with a snorer as well. Hopefully, the information you have learned today will help you in your search for ways to handle snoring, so you can finally have a peaceful night of sleep.
It is important to take steps against allergies in any effort to treat a snoring problem. Allergies will clog your sinuses and cause your nostrils to have reduced air intake. Those suffering from allergies often tend to breath with the mouth rather than through the nose, which can lead to snoring. Antihistamines, combined with a humidifier, can help to reduce both your allergies and your snoring.